Let Us Work Together

It is heart warming to have your web as our only way of making any meaningful contribution towards the development of our motherland,the land we love so much but because of disunity,we have started tearing apart. Had it not been Ghanaweb it would have been very difficult for those of us who have no significant stake in the politics of Ghana to be heard.

In the past I have written to the Republic of Ghana website and nothing came out of it. I have tried various government agencies but as usual,no one cares so nobody responded. You are doing such a wonderful job so keep it up.

I have been worried by events in Ghana of late and as a citizen, I would like to use this medium to make one or two contributions.At times I wonder why the military jettisoned the progress our first president made in the area of race relations in Ghana. He made it a possibility that,we did not see ourselves more than being Ghanaians. If forms of any kind were printed,they refrained from showing ones ethnic background. Then the Army came in and subsequent governments designed new forms depicting one's ethnic and tribal background.

What such designs have achieved is that, today we see ourselves as Akyem, Akuapem, Asante, Fante, Larte, Ewe, Hausa, Dagomba, Dagarti, Frafra etc. more than being a Ghanaian. When a nation starts losing its pride in nationhood but projects it's ethnic and tribal origins,then there is something very wrong. History has taught us that the various wars fought within the then Gold Coast were all fought because of our inability to accept the various tribal groupings at the time. Nigeria had to fight a war because of this problem. Not quite long ago,our neighbours in the Ivory Coast went through the same process.We should not forget also the dangers of worshipping personalities. We pride ourselves as the first Black African country to gain independence; we pride ourselves in the fact that our first president used our independence as a springboard for the rest of Africa to be independent. Why then,being the Star that is designed to shine on the continent we have not learnt any lessons from what happened to others in Mozambique, Angola, The Congos, Liberia, Sierra Leone? just to mention but a few.

In Ghana today,we don't see any Ghanaian in anybody but we are projecting the images of individuals and their tribes and no matter how wrong the may be at times,we don't want to hear anything about that. All we want is that,once that person had spoken,it must become a law unto us.

Are we thinking of the future of our children and their children? What legacy are we leaving for them? We have been very lucky that all the wars had been fought for us by our forefathers,why can't we come together as a nation and forget about our differences and build a Ghana,we would be proud to call a nation?

I was watching the just concluded elections in the US and it was a joy to hear everybody echoing "The American People" What impressed me the most was when Senator Allen of Virginia,who lost by 7000 votes to Webb said and I quote: For the sake of the American people,I would not prolong this elections any further. Even though, I have a right that there should be recount at the expense of the federal government, I want to respect the will of the people (unquote).

He is respecting the will of the people.We have had democratic institutions even long before the white came to colonize us but we have not experienced it in government. Our democracy is new and fragile. We need patience for it to work. And in order for it to work,we have to be a nation first. We should all discard our individual and selfish goals and merge those goals with that of Ghana,by putting Ghana first. If we learn from that proverb of the "BROOM",which the whiteman renamed: SYNERGY.The whole is greater than it's parts.

Let us start learning from our past and move forward as a people born to one mother called GHANA. Let us stop raising certain people in society above others. Whatever we are,our mother, Mum Ghana loves us. She does not love one more than the other. Whatever talent we have we should start using it to benefit our mother's children. We are supposed to have leaders because our mother thinks we need those to help her look after us well. These leaders are not perfect because they are flesh and blood,let us be patient with them,if we have any constructive advise,let us give it to them in a more dignified manner.Let us respect our leaders because it is not a small job to be selected in a country of about 20million people as a leader. Let us ask God to guide them,educate them,teach them,give them wisdom and his fear so that they will try to do the right things all the time.

Let us resolve that enough is enough,Ghana matters more to us than individual politicians who come in all forms of disguises, all with the sole aim of splitting the bound -"the broom".We should let them know that when the broom is split,it is useless and functionless.

We have a beautiful country let us unite and fend for each other.Let us cultivate the fruits of the spirit in our country, Love, patience, goodness, peace-loving, kindness, gentleness and learn to eschew all those negative vibes that the enemy of nation building has designed to tear us apart. LONG LIVE GHANA! LONG LIVE THE ASPIRATIONS OF ALL THE PEOPLES OF GHANA!! LONG LIVE THE PRESIDENCY AND ALL INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO BIND US TOGETHER AS ONE NATION!!! AND LONG LIVE THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY TO RULE WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR AND LONG LIVE THOSE IN OPPOSITION SO THAT THEY GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE OPPOSITION,TO LET THE GOVERNING PARTY DO THE RIGHT THINGS.

Ghana Our only motherland,peace be unto you.

Sincerely yours KO Owusu-Ansah